Internet And It's Applications On Business

INTERNET and It's Applications on Business

Today, the Internet has become a fundamental part of our daily lives. In our homes, on the street, in our schools; Internet is omnipresent and it has been practically changing the way we live for the good part of the last decade. As a natural result, the Internet is also playing a role in the way we, or rather companies, do business. Since access to information is a key element in successful business, the Internet is quite normally a key element in business as well.

The number of companies who literally jumped into Internet-related investment just in the aftermath of the 'dot-com hype' is incredible. However, this first boost and rush to be a part of this new phenomenon backfired for many companies as they did not essentially concentrate on what their basic drives for getting into the digital world were. Instead, many dashed into this novel medium only because they 'predicted' it would be a key component in the future without much thinking, or, worse yet, simply because other competing firms were already involved in the hype.

A close study of today's successful e-commerce companies reveals some pivotal features of how the Internet is changing the way companies do business. Or rather, the ever increasing involvement of the Internet is urging companies to perform certain functions. Therefore, it would not be unreasonable to present a to-do list for companies, through enumerating the characteristics of a successful e-commerce company. It is, thus, possible to sum up the ensemble of initiatives that lead to a successful and Internet-related business in four words: leadership, strategy, structure and systems.

Leadership, obviously, is a crucial factor in any sort of initiative. Even more so in business. If a company is to be successful in Internet-related business, first of all, the CEO and other senior managers have to be firm believers in the benefits of the Internet age. They need to have at least basic understanding of Internet and information technologies. Ideally, these managers should also be able to work out technical details of the technologies in question; otherwise, the IT department would practically run the company and not the top managers. Secondly, the managerial team must carefully analyze the company's e-commerce position. Even if the company is late in the race to the Internet, it can always come up with a unique combination of goods and/or services that can fill a gap in the sector. These initiatives, of course, necessitate high investment in the IT department. Nevertheless, the company should also be able to make its workers understand that e-commerce is in their benefit.

The right e-commerce strategy is the second step towards success in the e-world. The first requirement is that the company be able to match its name, and the feelings of trust and prestige, with its online services and security of those services. On the other hand, the company should choose to promote its online services through various traditional media such as business cards. Then, the company should choose what products to offer online, as opposed to its physical stores. The choice to increase or decrease the number and amount of items available requires careful study of the company itself, as well as the study of the current market situation. The company may also choose to offer customization possibilities to create online customer loyalty. It goes without saying that the company should establish a solid network of customer services to handle customer inquiries or complaints about the

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